Category Archives: Body, Mind & Spirit

No More M&M’s?

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30 Reasons To Never Put Another M&M In Your Mouth Ever Again!

| May 15, 2016

30 Reasons To Never Put Another M&M In Your Mouth Ever Again!

by Lindsay Sibson

You versus a bowl of M&M’s.

If I had to place a bet on who would win that battle, I’d 99.99% go with the M&M’s.

You’ve been there. I’m also guilty.

It is nearly impossible to resist this coveted candy dish.

However, you may want to think twice before reaching for those easy “melt-in-your-mouth-not-in-your-hand” chocolates.

Here is why…

First, a brief history of the glorious M&M:

  • Created in 1941.
  • Now sold in over 100 countries with 33 different fillings.
  • Created to allow soldiers to carry chocolate without it melting.
  • The two “M’s” are for Forrest E. Mars, Sr. and William F.R. Murrie, the son of Hershey chocolate’s president.
  • This partnership allowed Mars to use Hershey in their products.
  • Hershey had control of chocolate at the time.

Harmful Ingredients Discovered In Candy

In 1976, Red candies were banned due to people’s concern about the questionable dyes. FD&C Red #2 was suspected to be a carcinogen. Red candies were then reintroduced in 1983. However, Mars is still urged by consumers to remove these dangerous artificial colors.

These artifical colors have been referred to as “neurotoxic chemicals” by a Change.org petition as well as a press release from Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese experienced a similar petition urging them to remove dangerous Yellow #5 and Yellow #6, which was supported by 350,000 signatures!

The CSPI has recommended that warning labels listing the risks of the eight approved FD&C food colors should be a requirement for all products containing these dangerous ingredients. The CSPI’s Dr. Jacobson said:

“The evidence that these petrochemicals worsen some children’s behavior is convincing.

I hope that the committee will advise the agency to both require warning notices and encourage companies voluntarily to switch to safer natural colorings.”

WHAT Are M&M’s Made Of?

Let’s look at the current ingredients listed on a bag of Original M&M’s:

Milk chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, skim milk, milkfat, lactose, soy lecithin, salt, artificial color), sugar, corn starch, >1% corn syrup, dextrin, artificial colors (Blue 1 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Blue 2), gum acacia.

HOW Harmful Are These Ingredients?

Soy lecithin

  • 93% of soy is genetically modified
  • Can cause breast cancer
  • Has negative effects on fertility and reproduction
  • May lead to behavioral and cerebral abnormalities

Blue #1

  • Produces malignant tumors at the site of injection and by ingestion in rats
  • Possible effects include: hay fever, low blood pressure, hives, asthma, allergic reaction
  • Caution is advised if aspirin sensitive

Red #40

  • Damages DNA
  • Causes swelling around the mouth
  • Hives
  • Hyperactivity in children
  • Cancer

Yellow #6

  • Can cause cancer
  • Hyperactivity
  • Allergic reactions
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
  • Nettle rash
  • Migraines
  • Swelling of the skin

Yellow #5

  • Can cause allergic reactions
  • Hyperactivity
  • Cancer

Blue #2

  • Petroleum based product
  • Increases hyperactivity in children
  • Increases brain tumors in lab rats
  • Increases other abnormal cell development

Gum Acacia

  • Dietary fiber from the Acacia tree
  • Causes gas, nausea, loose stool and bloating

Sadly, the Mars company has continued to use these artificial colors. Even though the FDA has declared them safe for human consumption, there is clear scientific evidence proving otherwise. What makes it even worse is that there are other natural and safe color alternatives available!

With a 2007 Forbes reported income of $27.4 million dollars, it is time for the Mars company to use that money to make positives changes to their products that will make them safer to eat! Until that day comes… it’s best you give up these dangerous and questionable little chocolates.

Since M&M’s are NOT an option any longer… here is what you can eat instead when you need a chocolate-y fix:

from:    http://www.bodymindsoulspirit.com/toxic-mm/

On Forgiveness

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Forgiveness As The Ultimate Act Of Self-Love!

May 15, 2016

Forgiveness As The Ultimate Act Of Self-Love!

by Ellyn Dye
Guest writer for In5D.com

Forgiveness can be a really sticky issue. Everyone knows it is “blessed” to forgive, yet most of us secretly—or not-so-secretly— harbor grudges, carry resentments, relive betrayals, and plot revenge, if only in our fantasies. After all, we “earned” those stripes through our own pain and anguish. If we let all that go, we lose part of ourselves, don’t we?? If we let it go, it means it doesn’t matter that we were hurt, doesn’t it?? Often people resist forgiving because they believe that in doing so they are condoning the bad behavior, invalidating their own experience and pain, pretending it never happened, and letting the person off “scot free.” That is simply not the case.

Forgiveness means acknowledging and accepting that something very painful happened or, yes, was done to you… and then letting it go and leaving it in the past where it belongs, so you can heal and move on in your own life. The other person probably moved on a long time ago!

And remember, it is totally up to you what, if any, future relationship you have with that person, and that will likely depend on whether he/she apologized, expressed true remorse, made amends, and worked to earn your trust again. Remember the adage: “Hurt me once, shame on YOU. Hurt me twice, shame on ME.” It’s true! “Turning the other cheek” may mean turning and walking away! We definitely don’t have to go back for a “second dose,” and it behooves us to learn from our experiences. We can only learn who people really are by observing, and sometimes experiencing, their actions. Every action is information about who a person is and whether we want him/her in our lives. And, as Maya Angelou said, “When a person shows you who they are, believe them!”

Holding on to past grievances is like permanently holding ourselves in the moment of the pain so we can relive it over and over again.When we are still stuck emotionally in a painful event, we are stuck firmly in the past, not moving forward with our lives, and we are giving our lives over to that single event. It becomes a defining moment for us. Many people actually define their entire existence in terms of what someone else did to them years, or even decades ago! Is it possible they want their entire life to become a shrine to one painful event? Why? What is the emotional payoff for that?

Think of it this way:  Someone walks up and hits you in the head with a baseball bat and walks away. Instead of going home to get first aid and heal your wound, you pick up the baseball bat and, over the next few years, periodically pick up the bat and hit yourself in the head again. By the end of five years, you’ve hit yourself in the head a few thousand times, with your built-up anger and resentment adding force to each blow. The person who originally hit you with the bat only did it once. So, at the end of the five years, who caused you the most pain and the most harm? That person or you?

Emotional pain, anger, resentment, and bitterness build up in our systems if we don’t vent them and let them go. Emotions are intended to be Energy in Motion, and emotional energies can cause all kinds of problems if they don’t move out of our systems. They are like toxic fumes that continually swirl around us. They make us sick and, worse, attract more toxic fumes… that will attract more painful events… that will emit more toxic fumes…

We create a continuing loop, and each time we relive the event in our minds, the neural networks that were created become deeper and stronger, so it is easier to “fall back” into that thought and feeling. It poisons our minds, our hearts, our bodies, and our lives, and often the lives of those around us. Before long, we view everything through that filter and our vision, our thoughts, and our emotional processes are so poisoned that the only thing we can see, think, or feel is pain, anger, resentment, and bitterness. We begin to believe that Life is defined by that, and we no longer allow anything else in, because our outer reality always proves that our beliefs are true!

It also traps us in victim mode. By holding on to past grievances and marinating ourselves in those toxic emotions, we give every ounce of our power away to the other person.We give up responsibility for ourselves and our emotional state of being, we wallow in our self-pity, and we give others power over our lives.

The truth is, no one can truly hurt us unless we let them.(OUCH!) Knowingly or unknowingly, we contribute to our own pain. We may not have control over what others do but, contrary to popular belief, we DO have control over how we respond. We can cling to the pain and relive it, or we can heal and walk away. In fact, it is never the experiences that create our lives and who we are, it is how we respond to them. Do we learn and grow and rise above, or do we fall and wallow and give up? It really is our choice.

 

As is so often the case, we can learn so much from the children. Kids know how to “shake it off,” unless the adults teach them to cling to their pain. A happy child falls, skins a knee, has mom “fix it,” and then runs out to play again. Kids accept that pain is just something that happens in life. They know all too well that sometimes people are mean and do things that hurt them, and they don’t let it stop them. We could use a lot more of that!

We owe it to ourselves to forgive. It is all for US, not for them. Forgiveness is truly a “selfish act,” and it really does set us free.

So how do we do that? When someone betrays us; abuses us; takes advantage of us; causes physical, mental, or emotional harm, how do we work our way to the point where we can forgive them and let it go? How do we, as Jiminy Cricket used to say, “Pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again”?

It isn’t always easy, and we generally have to go one step at a time, but it may be the most important part of our healing process. If we can reframe our understanding of the event, we can often change our perspective enough to forgive and make lemonade from those lemons. Here are some ways to reframe:

Recognize that everyone is doing the best they can with the resources they have at the time. This includes ALL resources, such as emotional understanding and capacity, self-esteem, knowledge, wisdom, experience, energy, ability to empathize with others, and level of overwhelm. Most people are running on empty, especially in the last few years: they are stretched so thin, they don’t have enough time, energy, money, strength, or mental or emotional capacity to cope. People are running on auto-pilot, and when a complex situation presents itself that requires discernment, integrity, generosity, kindness, and love, often they only have the ability to react out of fear. They cannot think about the impact of their actions on other people, because they are struggling just to manage a situation and get through it.

Even when people do try to consider others, they still don’t really know the full impact of their actions; none of us can ever really know, because a person’s reaction to what we do is based not only on what we do, but also on their entire emotional history.

What other people do to us is not really about US. How we react to what other people do to us is not really about THEM.

What people do comes from their state of mind, emotional state, and emotional baggage. How we react to anything that happens to us comes from our state of mind, emotional state, and emotional baggage.

This is an important distinction: our reactions and sensitivities to what others do is our own, based on everything that has ever happened to us and how we have reacted. People can push our buttons without even knowing we have those buttons, and we can push theirs. Heck, I can push people’s buttons just by walking into a room!! What is perfectly fine for one person can be highly offensive, threatening, or pain-invoking for someone else. And we have absolutely no way of knowing that until we find out the hard way, when they react in a totally unexpected way. It’s the same for others and our reactions. The key for all of us is to identify the buttons we have and heal the underlying pain, so there is no longer a button to push!

Forgive them, for they know not what they do. To me, this request, attributed to Jesus on the cross, is one of the most important, and most difficult, lessons in the Bible. When we can recognize that every action, by anyone, is either an act of love or a cry for love,and respond accordingly, we have truly released our attachment to control and pain and moved into love and compassion. When we can learn to be in that space of love and forgiveness, we have taken a giant step in our own healing and evolution.

Even when someone does something intentionally to be mean, inflicting damage or pain on purpose, they still do not know what they are doing or why. They are still only acting from the depths of their own fear, pain, and insecurity, doing the best they can. If bullies were not so terrified and self-loathing, themselves, they would not feel the need to inflict pain on others. Because of the abuse they have endured in their own lives, they can only feel powerful or good about themselves when they are putting others down or abusing them. They are getting through life the only way they know how, by treating others as they have been treated. Instead of healing their own pain, they inflict pain on others. Sadly, it appears that our culture has created a society of bullies. “The sins of the father,” passed down from generation to generation, are the dysfunctional, self-loathing ways of being in the world, based on the accumulated unhealed wounds and pain.

People who feel good about themselves, who are self-aware, and who have worked on their own healing, generally have no need to intentionally cause pain or create conflict; and if they do so by mistake, they usually can recognize it quickly and rectify it or make amends. People who indulge in desperate acts feel desperate inside. People who inflict pain are filled with pain, themselves. People who act badly simply are unable, in that moment, to act any better, for whatever reason. They cannot be focused on you and your pain, because they can only focus on their own. Forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Recognizing how we often participate in causing ourselves pain is a humbling experience, and an important step toward forgiveness of ourselves and others, as well as toward our own self-awareness.

We must understand that no one can hurt us emotionally unless we “let” them. Nothing anyone else does is deeply painful unless there is something inside us that resonates with it. That unhealed emotional pain inside us—or our attachment to control of external events and others—sets up a resonance and attracts more pain into our lives. It’s those “buttons” again, that keep getting pushed. Used consciously, an emotional response can alert us to our deep, unhealed pain so we can heal it and eliminate the buttons. Unfortunately, we usually just cling more to each painful incident, thus increasing the resonance in an escalating cycle.

When we blame others for how we feel, regardless of what they have done; when we give others the power to hurt us and “ruin” our lives, we keep ourselves trapped in that resonance-pain-resonance-pain feedback loop. And if we feel, deep inside, that we deserve pain—or if we have been betraying ourselves by allowing abuse—then pain and betrayal will become the pattern of our lives until we break the cycle. And it is up to us, not someone else, to do the work to heal and break the cycle. If we allow ourselves to be doormats, we cannot really hold it against someone who wipes his feet on us, because we invited the action, consciously or unconsciously.

As Doctor Phil says, it’s up to us to teach people how to treat us, and we do that every day in every interaction, consciously or unconsciously. We do it by what we allow and what we don’t allow. Our relationships show us what we are teaching people about how we believe we deserve to be treated—and sometimes, that’s not pretty! We often stay in abusive situations, hoping the other person will change, because we are too afraid to empower ourselves to leave and create our own change. Or, deep down, we believe that we deserve it. (We don’t—EVER! And sometimes that’s our biggest lesson!)

We can also sometimes unconsciously “invite” or set ourselves up for disappointment and pain by harboring unrealistic expectations of others and/or by not clearly conveying our expectations to others. That is a trap, and no one wins. Often, we feel that others should somehow “know” what we need, want, or expect (possibly because we are afraid to express our needs clearly, or don’t believe we deserve to have them met). When others do not fulfill those needs or expectations, we take it personally, feel hurt, and hold it against them. But our needs are our responsibility.

We also may expect others to act in the same ways that we would in a given situation; we expect someone to act fairly because we would, or we expect someone to consider our needs and feelings because we would do that for them. We expect others to share our values and integrity and, perhaps to even act in our interests instead of their own. But again, these are unrealistic expectations, and unrealistic expectations only set us

from:    http://in5d.com/forgiveness-as-the-ultimate-act-of-self-love/

Consciousness & Awakening

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Return to Source – The Spirit’s Journey Home

Alex Vandenberg, Contributor
Waking Times

According to a vast array of magical and alchemical texts, hermetic treatises, philosophic works, religious scriptures, and many prominent pieces of literature spanning the ages, it appears that the sole purpose of life is to awaken from our self-imposed slumber. That is, to remember who we really are or to become that which we have always been. This natural proclivity percolating within man to consciously collaborate with an innately irrational unconscious life process is what gives an individual meaning, purpose, and value.

We see this current of thought unequivocally expressed in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s first book entitled Nature. While striking a delicate accord between the terms Nature and nature, the work essentially presupposes that the entirely of life has but one aim: to return to the Source.

At bottom, this process of spiritual awakening is ultimately an initiation into the enduring harmony of the world or, if you like, a realignment of our will with the embodied Will of the Universe. It is about ascending that mystical ladder that punctuates the heavens and leads right up to the doorstep of God. It is about the firing of rudimentary clay so as to produce that finished effervescent glaze. In essence, it is about the changing of frequency as the blossoming of our blood allows us to tune back into that ancient theme of the Music of the Spheres. As Cicero wrote in his work The Dream of Scipio:

“Learned men, by imitating this harmony on stringed instruments and in song, have gained for themselves a return to the supernal heights….”

Given all of this, the question naturally arises as to how we know we are marching to the right tune. As we pursue the text of Life, of which we are all on different chapters, there are many indicators of progress that help one measure the extent to which he/she is successfully moving away from an object-oriented ego-dominated consciousness.

While not everyone experiences the exact same signals, there do seem to be some parallels that persistently appear in the life of the would-be adept. For example, initially you will find yourself engulfed by a series of jaw-dropping “coincidences” (synchronicities). The inner will spill over into the outer as your enthusiasm scintillates like a savory steak, boils to a crescendo, and finally takes off like a 747. This formidable energetic essence of emotion appears to be the elixir that underlies this aboriginal dreamlike state of mind. As Albertus Magnus wrote in his piece De mirabilibus mundi:

“I discovered an instructive account (of Magick) in Avicenna’s Liber Sextus Naturalium, which says that a certain power to alter things indwells in the human soul and subordinates the other things to her, particularly when she is swept into a great excess of love or hate or the like.  When therefore the soul of man falls into a great excess of any passion, it can be proved by experiment that it (the excess) binds things and alters them in the way it wants.”

As these synchronicities abound you will feel like you’re dreaming while in a state of waking consciousness. It’s like being the choreographer of your own inner theatre production. For myself, this was the tipping point where I was forced to reconfigure my cognitive schema relative to how the world is structured and functions. I was forced to see it as it really was – a sort of fiction, mirage, cognitive construction, or illusory transcendental projection of thought itself. Now, while it is true that everyone experiences certain synchronistic phenomena such as the aforementioned, those who are advancing on a shamanic path will notice the regularity and frequency of these occurrences increasing. It may even get to the point where it becomes psychologically worrisome. But obviously fear not for this is all part and parcel of the Way.   

The next thing you will start to notice on this journey is the mysterious manifestation of a multitude of omens. Omens are the Spirit’s way of communicating to man through the medium of Nature. They appear to increase in the life of the more spiritual types but this is only an illusion. As Carlos Castaneda wrote in The Power of Silence:

“I am going to tell you a story about the nagual Elias and the manifestation of the spirit. The spirit manifests itself to a sorcerer, especially to a nagual, at every turn. However, this is not the entire truth. The entire truth is that the spirit reveals itself to everyone with the same intensity and consistency, but only sorcerers, and naguals in particular, are attuned to such revelations.”

An additional sign of success will be an increased urge to express yourself creatively. At times, and seemingly out of nowhere, an omnivorous voracious impulse will come stampeding through. It completely engulfs even the most left-brain types and almost seems to demand that it be represented in some sort of concrete form be it a painting, sculpture, drawing, or what have you. I say almost because this is not an elemental struggling to survive but rather something that emanates from an innermost need, something that feels akin to duty. Amazingly, in the process of it all, you will feel like your hand is being guided by an invisible force, like you’re an instrument or conduit for the One and All. And when the work is finally complete you will stand back and say, “That was not done by my hand and yet it was.” And this is yet another sign: that of not taking credit. 

As you continue to advance something truly astonishing may pop into your life. This being Numbers. Initially, you may even find the number eleven appearing at a frequency beyond that which can reasonably be explained away as statistical anomaly. For instance, there will be many consecutive days, sometimes lasting years, where you will see only the number eleven when you unconsciously look to discover the time. This would be the equivalent of all random variables or data sets falling consistently within the tail range of the normal distribution curve. And no, this is not due to some incessant infatuation with the number eleven or because it holds some kind of deep sentimental value or sacred meaning for you. These experiences often tend to occur before the number gains any symbolic prominence in your mind. What’s important to understand is that these experiences are typically normal and not necessarily a sign of neurosis. 

In the end, the Numbers that are mysteriously being issued by Nature represent symbolic attempts to facilitate the process of Individuation; to bridge that gulf within the mind of man that has reached epic proportions.  For Numbers, just like the sun, moon, stars, or anything else in Nature, are ultimately symbols.  More specifically, they are archetypes of order.  As Dr. Carl Jung wrote in his work Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle:

“Hence it is not such an audacious conclusion after all if we define number psychologically as an archetype of order which has become conscious. Remarkably enough, the psychic images of wholeness which are spontaneously produced by the unconscious, the symbols of the self in mandala form, also have a mathematical structure. They are as a rule quaternities. These structures not only possess order, they also create it. This is why they generally appear in times of psychic disorientation in order to compensate a chaotic state or as formulations of numinous experiences. It must be emphasized yet again that they are not inventions of the conscious mind but are spontaneous products of the unconscious, as has been sufficiently shown by experience. Naturally the conscious mind can imitate these patterns of order, but such imitations do not prove that the originals are conscious inventions. From this it follows irrefutably that the unconscious uses number as an ordering factor.”

Another idiosyncratic element that you can expect to confront when traversing this path will be suffering. Just as pain accompanies our entrance into this world, so too does pain accompany the process of mystical regeneration. As part of this suffering you may experience the haughtiness of the vain, the ridicule of the close-minded, the mockery of the egotistical, and the general indifference of the masses. Many may perceive you as some sort of anomaly or worse. They will stare like motorists when they slow down to gawk at some mangled mess on the side of the road. They will think “Does he even realize he’s going nowhere?” Like a hamster in a wheel you may be perceived as moving while remaining still. But not all those who wander are lost. 

“They who dance are thought mad by those who hear not the music.”—The Times (London) 1927

Other aspects of this tumultuous terrain include the manifestation of various psychic aberrations that serve to complicate and undermine the Work. In alchemy, these disturbances are generally brushed aside as technical difficulties. However, in the Greek and Latin alchemical texts the psychic nature of these dangers is elaborated upon at length and is described as part demonic and part psychic disturbance i.e. melancholia. With regard to the latter, this represents the confrontation with the shadow or the nigredo phase of the Work. This peculiar psychic state will descend upon you suddenly and without warning. It will be experienced as an extreme boredom unlike anything you have ever experienced. You will literally be left with zero interest in anything. And then, just as suddenly as it arrived, it will depart (for me this lasted exactly 30 days). As to the dangers in general, we get this from the alchemist Aegidius de Vadis who wrote the following in his work Dialogus inter naturam et filium philosophorum (1659):

“I shall keep silent about this science, which has led most of those who work in it into confusion, because there are few indeed who find what they seek, but an infinite number who have plunged to their ruin.”

Ultimately, all of this gloom and doom can be viewed as the training necessary to defeat the Guardian of the Gate. As the old consciousness dissolves a new one is rising to take its place. For one must die to be reborn. And one of the main facets of this figurative death is a separation from one’s mother tongue. The night sea journey of Odysseus is a necessary prerequisite for the return journey home. For was not Christ transfigured in a cave? Did not the Buddha disappear into the desert? So too will we have to traverse the deepest thicket of our own unconscious wilderness if we wish to turn lead into gold. For we are like mushrooms- we grow in the dark. In the words of the primitive Eskimo shaman Igjugarju:

“The only true wisdom lives far from mankind, out in the great loneliness, and it can be reached only through suffering. Privation and suffering alone can open the mind of a man to all that is hidden to others.”—H. Ostermann, The Alaskan Eskimos

As you navigate your way through these stormy seas know that you are on the right path, trust in yourself, and let that Power within radiate outwards in every conceivable direction. Be a mirror of what no one sees but all can sense. Communicate without speaking by allowing your electro-magnetism flood the consciousness of those around you. Act as that catalyst that kick starts the entire cascade of neurological impulses which adds vigor to the soul. For that interminable ocean – the inexhaustible fire that galvanizes, adds an extra spring to your step, and is the source of the second wind – is boiling within.

As this rich abundant Infinite Force continues to work itself through you it will eventually effectuate a change in lifestyle. Goals will become more macro as opposed to micro as you begin to exhibit more compassion towards others. And as you learn to love others your capacity for accepting and loving yourself will grow exponentially. With this new found respect, an increased awareness in the importance of physical health will take root. Eventually, a win-win attitude will be adopted and an unusual elation will fill you to the brim. This uncanny cheer will inevitably overflow with the physiological result being a feeling akin to walking on air. Like a balloon there will be times when you feel like your literally going to float away. Precisely then will your shamanic sight, your power of imagination, will be most keen. A broadening of the perceptional horizon will allow you to see the darkness inside others. Through all of this you will feel and look like you’re getting younger even as you grow older. 

superconsciousness

More and more you will be helped by God as you continue to earn your keep on this path, whether it through devotion, the application of philosophic will, or otherwise. Material progress will also be a critical component in facilitating your spiritual ascent. For if one recalls it was only after a series of worldly victories that the Vision of the Grail presented itself to Parzival. Only when his temporal goal was fulfilled as represented by King Arthur’s court did the call come to go deeper, beyond the bounds of space, time, and causality to a more transpersonal realm. In short, the pathless path that leads to the Garden of the Philosophers opened up after the knight had earned his keep and was ready. As Louis Pasteur once quipped:

“Chance favors the prepared mind.” 

Eventually, events will begin to occur that will be so startling, so earth-shattering that they would cause even the most ardent non-believer to buckle at the knees. The Mysteries will begin to unfold in your daily life as circumstances, people, experiences, opportunities, etc., are brought in to act as initiatory gods. The Spirit will come out to meet you everywhere you go. As is said in the Corpus Hemeticum (Hermes-Thot),

“Everywhere God will come to meet you, everywhere he will appear to you, at places and times at which you look not for it, in your waking hours and in your sleep, when you are journeying by water and by land, in the nighttime and in the daytime, when you are speaking and when you are silent; for there is nothing which is not God.”

All in all, what’s really transpiring here is the conscious actualization of formerly latent unconscious aspects of our Self. As we continue to advance to higher and higher grades there will be other surprises to be sure – the remembering of past lives and the manifestation of miracles to name just a few. Increasingly, Nature will act as the mirror of an exciting invigorating inner adventure. Life then becomes the Lodge; Life becomes the Initiator. And this is precisely when it will become crystal clear to you that there is no need to seek out a master and that true learning starts when the books stop. For you will have arrived at the realization through experience that the highest Authority is to be found within.      

In the end, the grand consummation will take hold and the Vision of the Grail will present itself. At High Noon the fabric of nature will be translucent as the world morphs into a web of effervescent light. Alive to an infinite degree, full of flavor and zeal, boisterous and bubbly, it sizzles until the soul bursts into flames. We then become everything because we resist nothing. Circumambulating back to that Center, where all opposites fluttering within the wheel of space-time coalesce into One, our senses become spiritualized, our instincts integrated, the body transfigured, the world transformed. For we have returned to those eternal heights to hear the Music of the Spheres, behold Beatrice, perceive Paradise, experience the sunrise, and feel the undulations of Infinity. This mesmeric, beatific, magnificent state is our right, our heritage, our destiny. It is the beginning and the end; our past and future. And it is ours to behold right Here and Now. 

from:     http://www.zengardner.com/63207-2/

A Case for Not Storing Bottled Water in Car

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The Biggest Reason You Should Never Drink Water Stored In Your Car
by Karen Foster

Storage of bottled water has become common place in many vehicles, especially during the summer months. While there are few problems arising from this practice while using glass or stainless steel, there are many concerns relating to plastic water bottles, which is still the majority and number choice made by consumers.


Drivers can certainly relate to finding a lost water bottle on the floor of the car and quenching their thirst, no matter how long the bottle has lived there.

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, when temperatures outside range from 80 degrees to 100 degrees, the temperature inside a car parked in direct sunlight can quickly climb to between 130 to 172. The upper scale on this range is higher than the “low” temperature setting on most conventional ovens.

In terms of heat-rise over time, it makes very little difference whether a car’s windows are closed or partially open. In both cases, a car’s interior temperature can rise approximately 40 degrees within one hour, even when the exterior temperature is only 72F according to a study from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

While there haven’t been widespread outbreaks of illness linked to consumption of contaminated bottled water, bottled water can indeed contain microbes at levels capable of making a person with a weak immune system sick. Bacteria may come from the water source, or can be introduced during the bottling process and multiplied with modest heat. But microbes are just one problem, plastic is another.

Plastic Still A Serious Problem In Bottled Water

A University of Florida study looked at 16 brands of bottled water, and the findings might throw a wrench in current FDA recommendations surrounding bisphenol A (or BPA) levels in plastic water bottles.

BPA is a dangerous chemical linked to health concerns from digestive problems to issues with brain development. It’s was found present in around two billion products in the U.S. that are used on a daily basis. Because it’s the most harmful on developing brains and bodies, children and pregnant women especially need to avoid contact with BPA.

Although there are simple ways to avoid BPA governments are not proactive about releasing that information to the public. The fact that exposure to BPA as a fetus is carried throughout adulthood is a cause for great concern.

While the current low levels in the plastic have been deemed safe, the researchers for this latest study watched these supposedly harmless levels grow over a four-week period when left in 158-degree heat. Even the FDA has warned to keep hot or boiling liquids out of packaging containing traces of BPA, due to its reactivity with heat.

Plastic water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate, a material that’s used for a lot of food and beverage packaging since it’s lightweight, durable, and shatterproof. However, when heated, it is known to release the chemical BPA, which can affect hormone levels by mimicking estrogen, and may trigger health risks if exposed at high levels. While the initial levels of BPA found in the 16 brands–save for one–did not exceed EPA standards for these chemicals, scientists are more concerned about how the chemicals increased over time.

Some manfacturers have made sensational claims that BPA has been substituted for other safer plastics. “Companies that said they had eliminated BPA or were in the process of doing so did not disclose the substitutes they were using,” so it’s unclear if the BPA-free products were using compounds similar to BPA, such as bisphenol-S, which has been shown to exhibit similar health impacts to BPA.

“If you store water long enough, there may be a concern,” study leader Lena Ma said in a press release.

The public should also be aware that re-using disposable plastic water bottles at any temperature can be harmful if they are not cleaned and dried properly. Accumulating pathogens can make people sick if ingested, causing vomiting or diarrhea. This is true with other types of containers, not just disposable water bottles.

So if you’ve store a water bottle in your vehicle for an undetermined period of time, throw it out and switch to glass or stainless steel.

from:    http://preventdisease.com/news/16/051316_Biggest-Reason-Never-Drink-Water-Stored-Car.shtml

Heliotherapy – The Sun as Healer

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What They Won’t Tell You: The Sun Is A Full-spectrum Medicine That Can Heal Cancer

| May 14, 2016

What They Won't Tell You: The Sun Is A Full-spectrum Medicine That Can Heal Cancer

by Paul Fassa,
NaturalNews

“Those that have attempted to convince the world that the Sun, the Earth’s primary source of energy and life causes cancer, have done so with malicious intent to deceive the masses into retreating from the one thing that can prevent disease.” — Dave Mihalovic, Naturopathic Doctor and writer. [1]

Truth is, we’ve been systematically lied to about the sun and skin cancer for years. This video presentation explains fully. How many know that there is no definitive proof that the sun alone causes skin cancer? [2]

Can the sun cure cancer?

In the book The Healing Sun, author Dr. Richard Hobday documents a wide array of studies which show that the sun protects against cancer of the breast, colon, ovaries and prostate. It can also prevent diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and high blood pressure, osteoporosis, psoriasis and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). [3]

Then there’s the case of Dr. Harland G. Call, who was diagnosed with skin cancer and was advised by a surgeon to have it removed. Instead, he decided to sunbath the cancerous area.

After a short period of continuous sunbathing, the skin cancer was completely gone. He returned to his MD for a confirmation, and his doctor confirmed that the skin cancer had disappeared and no surgery was required. [3]

According to Dr. Bernarr Zovluck, “Cancer is helped by sunbathing, writes Dr. Zane R. Kime. Kime writes that those who get more sunlight have less cancer. Sunbathing heals cancer by building up the immune system and increasing the oxygen in the tissues.” [4]

Still, we’re bombarded almost daily with dire “warnings” from reputable “authorities” admonishing us, for our own good of course, to avoid the sun at all costs.

Epidemic levels of sun phobia

For example, Dr. Robin Ashinoff, chief of dermatological and cosmetic surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center advised: “Wearing sunscreen and then deliberately going out in the sun is almost as [bad] as going out with no sunscreen at all.”

She continued, “You don’t get burned, but the UV rays are still getting into your skin. Sunscreen is important, but you should also wear the right clothing and shield yourself as much as possible from direct sun exposure.” [5]

Is Dr. Ashinoff advocating a vampire lifestyle? The reality is that the vast majority of people, including doctors, have been duped into believing the myth that the sun is toxic, carcinogenic and a deadly health hazard.

That’s why most people slavishly and lavishly slather toxic sunscreens on their skin whenever they anticipate direct contact with the sun’s rays. But in fact, most conventional sunscreens are cancer-causing biohazards. [6] [7]

Meanwhile, the multi-billion-dollar cancer industry and the billion-dollar toxic sunscreen industry are making hay with this hoax. True believers are left scratching their heads in bewilderment as statistics reveal that the dreaded malignant melanoma skin cancer is on the rise. [8]

The sun doctor

Dr. Auguste Rollier opened the first European “Sun Clinic” in 1903 at Leysin, Switzerland. He also wrote a very influential book: Heliotherapy. He was considered the most famous heliotherapist in the world.

At his peak, he operated 36 clinics. Dr. Rollier espoused that the sun was an unsurpassed broad-spectrum medicine. He healed his patients using a wholesome diet combined with the power of the sun.

By 1933, there were over 165 different diseases successfully treated with heliotherapy including tuberculosis, wounds, rickets and much more. Dr. Rollier’s death in 1954 marked the end of sun therapy not because it was ineffective, but because it had been replaced by Big Pharma’s “miracle drugs.” [9]

from:    http://www.bodymindsoulspirit.com/what-they-wont-tell-you-the-sun-is-a-full-spectrum-medicine-that-can-heal-cancer/

Some Edible Flowers

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Eating Edible Flowers

by

The culinary use of edible flowers is not a recent trend; it can be traced back thousands of years to the Greeks, Romans, and Chinese. Flowers were traditionally incorporated into many various cuisines –from Asian and East Indian to European, Victorian English, and Middle Eastern. Think of the lush rose petals in Indian food and the bright squash blossoms in the Italian meals.

Edible flowers fell out of grace, but they are making a huge come-back, not only as a fancy garnish, but also as an effective seasoning. Of course, flowers are not everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to cooking. The secret is to learn to pick the right ones and to combine them properly with other ingredients.

The buds and blooms of different plants offer a wide range of flavour, colour, and a tinge of whimsy. Some are irresistibly fragrant and tasty, others are spicy and sharp. Some are lemony or weedy while others are floral or herbaceous. The rich palette of taste and colour make edible flowers a perfect addition to almost every dish. Spruce up the regular meal with these surprisingly delicious blooms.

Not All Flowers Are Edible

Not every flower that you have in your garden is edible. Even though the buds may not be poisonous, they don’t all taste good! Luckily, most of the blooms of fruits, veggies, and herbs work just as great as their fully-grown counterparts.  It’s advisable to consume only plants that have been grown without pesticides or with such that are suitable for edible crops. If you buy flowers from expert gardeners, a nursery or garden centres, check to see if they are labelled as edible. Make sure you are not allergic to a certain type of plant before you use it. That said, here are a couple of tips on how to harvest and store your edible flowers.

  • Pick the blooms and buds just before you use them for the best flavour
  • Harvest during the cool of the day, after the dew evaporates
  • Brush off any soil and remove any insects hiding within
  • Wash the flowers gently and let them air-dry over a paper towel
  • If not used right away, keep them in the fridge for no longer than 10 days
  • They can be dried, frozen or preserved in vinegar or oil

Some Flowers You Can Grow and Eat

You can choose from a variety of annuals, biennials, and perennials that will look gorgeous in your garden and will add unique taste to your meals. Planting some of these flowers can introduce benefits both to your garden and your cooking routine. If you are looking for your next gardening projects, here are a couple of ideas you might want to consider:

Nasturtium

nasturtium flower

There are many reasons to consider planting nasturtium in your garden. These vibrant and versatile annuals serve a double duty – as an exquisite culinary delight and as a natural pest control. The sun-loving greenery will bloom from midsummer until the first frost. Its peppery tasting flowers can be added to fresh salads or used in your favourite pesto recipe. You can also skip the mustard, and stuff the spicy petals into your sandwiches with creamy cheese and sliced tomatoes.

Squash Blossoms

male squash blossom flower

These are probably some of the most widely used edible flowers, especially in the Italian cuisine. Squash blossoms are the flowers of the late-season pumpkins, zucchini, summer squash, and winter squash. The orange and yellow buds can be used raw in a salad or stuffed with cheese. They taste like a more delicate version of squash and can be fried or cooked with creamy rice.

Dill

Dill Flower

Dill offers remarkable benefits for both your health and your garden. It contains enzymes that help reduce the free radicals and carcinogens in the human body. Plus it prevents bone loss and has anti-bacterial properties. According to the gardening experts, the blossoms can attract pollinators and beneficial insects into your backyard. The flowers have light dill flavour and are usually added to jars with cucumber pickles.

Chives Blossoms

Chive flower

Chives don’t require any garden maintenance or efforts. Your site is probably filled with these lavender-pink flowers, so why not try them out? Toss them in a fresh salad, add them in a casserole, or cook them with fresh vegetables. Their taste resembles onions so don’t use too many of these pungent flowers.

Violet

african violet flower

Viola odorata or sweet violet is an all time classic when it comes to cooking with edible flowers. It was a favourite treat of English royalty and a popular ingredient during the Victorian era. The taste of this flower pairs well with lemon and chocolate. You can use it in different recipes – from crèmes and desserts to tarts and salads.  Violets can be quite challenging when it comes to cooking, because you will need a lot of them to extract enough flavour.

from:    http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/eating-edible-flowers

Taking Charge of Your Consciousness

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The Hijacking Of Consciousness

May 9, 2016 Spiritual Awakening

The Hijacking Of Consciousness

by Elva Thompson,

Toy bewitched.
Made blind by lusts, disinherited of soul,
No common centre Man, no common sire
Knoweth! A sordid solitary thing
Mid countless brethren with a lonely heart
Through courts and cities the smooth savage roams,
Feeling himself, his own low self, the whole.
Coleridge: Religious Musings.

Frequency War

Many of us are waking up to the fact that the world we live in is being engineered into a nightmare of controlled reality. We see our planet gutted and destroyed before our eyes and there seems no end to the ongoing ecological insanity. We feel outraged when satanic corporations, protected by ‘law’, pollute the earth in pursuit of reckless greed and deranged ‘respected scientists’ test bio weapons on helpless animals.

Many horrific events in this world don’t make sense to sanity…but they do make sense in terms of frequency.

The satanic cabal of Luciferians that run the circus in this density are physical and energetic parasites. They control everything that affects our lives and to keep us addicted to self, they use the law, media and entertainment industry to target our reptile brains and keep us in the mire of the matrix.

Everything in our multiverse is in a state of vibration and we are immersed in a sea of electro-magnetic resonance, being both transmitter and receiver of vibratory information. The constant bloodbath of war, the misery of millions, animal cruelty, sexual abuse of children, human trafficking, child sacrifice at the grid points of our planet, our fascination with ego and the sense bound world, all act as spiritual anchors that compromise our divine consciousness.

Nothing happens by chance

It is no accident, we are overwhelmed with negativity, in fact, it is deliberate. Human beings run on frequency and our thoughts and feelings affect our DNA. The negatively charged environment of ‘us and them’ prevents us from vibrating faster and we are drowning in fear that is constantly created for us by our handlers. We only have to watch the news to realize we are being played….for are we not constantly bombarded with fear porn and bad news? As a result of this bombardment, most people are in a constant state of fear and stress[reptile mind] and in that state of mind, it is easy to create drama and negative scenarios.

We know so little about who we are, and when we start to observe ourselves in action, we find there’s two of us in one body. The reptile mind can completely take us over, and once we are triggered our behavior can range from insults to physical violence, even murder. Each time we are overwhelmed by these instinctual and negative emotions, we are amplifying the lower frequencies that keep us enslaved to the program of duality…the fear field of the third dimension’s beta operating system-fight/flight.

Our handlers know that if they can keep us in fear, stimulate our base instincts and keep us in the game, we will never be able to upgrade our DNA.

Glamour…the art of deception.

Glamorous and deceptive advertising target our emotions, self image and sexuality. They make us want things we don’t need, products to make us feel and look better… and our reptilian minds are constantly stimulated to want instant gratification, at whatever cost.

And the rub is, most of us don’t even realize we are being controlled.

We are caught up in the spiders web of the ‘I’ll be happy when I …..have a new car, quit drinking, move to a new location, start a new job, lose weight, start a family, get a divorce, and our excuses for our pitiful state of being carries on……ad nauseum.

We are always looking for external gratification to make us feel good about ourselves…and it may for a while…but eventually it fails every time and we are back to where we started with our unhappy lives. To mask the symptoms of our spiritual unease, we escape into the salve of false religions, so called ‘teachers and gurus’, the martyr complex, drama, indiscriminate sex, prescription drugs, recreational drugs and alcohol. And, it would seem that we have been indoctrinated to be always in the ‘rushing mode’, always in a hurry…we lose our car keys, door keys, phone, put things down and can’t find them, go to the shops for something and get everything else but the thing we wanted. We are being constantly distracted by the reptile in our divine minds, and instead of slowing down and staying in the moment, we speed here and there until we are utterly exhausted.

There can be no spiritual development while we are anchored to a negative agenda and our path to liberation lies within ourselves. Once we begin to observe the schism within our own minds, the continuous war of ‘us and them’ in ourselves and our projected selves…the world, we realize that everyone is playing the game of duality and distraction, powering the grid with negative emotions.

Until we can control our thoughts and stay mindful in a positive now, we are all the enemy of planet earth.

The Cosmic Reset

We are in the Cosmic reset, the four year period of grace that follows the end of the Grand Cosmic year of twenty-six thousand years.

At this special time that started on December 21 2012, the planetary influences controlling our lives on Earth are at their weakest, and we have a chance to leave the dense duality of this dimension. This is the ascension timeline, the evolution of the life waves…the spiritual upgrading of our DNA.

Every being is geared to evolve, but we are regressing because our spiritual reality has been compromised by our controllers.

Frequency fences and the hijacking of DNA

There have been many modifications to our original genome, and one of them is the the placement of frequency fences in our consciousness. We are food animals farmed for our emotional distress and caught up in the electro- magnetic balance sheet of karma and, our handlers don’t want the food source they have created to escape the farm[matrix]. By stimulating our lower three ‘animal chakras’: security, sex and ego control of our environment, the powers that be can effectively control and negate the planetary grid, and this in turn keeps us anchored in the third dimension of duality.

The awakening

Many of us are waking up to the cruel realities of this dog eat dog world and are doing our best to save life and not take it. We are moving from ‘below the belt’ up to the fourth chakra of Air, the fourth dimension. No longer are we in service to self, the program of the lower three chakras, we have moved into the heart.

When we change our frequency, it’s almost like a bell rings in the matrix. The last thing our controllers want is for us to turn inward and strive to activate our divided blueprint, so when our bell rings …we can expect a distraction to knock us off course.

This attack can take many forms: psychic attacks, chronic anxiety syndrome, an accident, sudden onset of disease, divorce, eviction, emotional betrayal. The attack is to stimulate the reptile mind and keep us out of balance.

The crossroads

Humanity is at the crossroads and many do not understand that we do not have to function in this lower density. We can follow the reptile mind into the electronic slavery of transhumanism, or take the journey inwards to activate our divided blueprint and make it whole.

The choice is ours and ours alone.

from:    http://in5d.com/the-hijacking-of-consciousness/

Child, Play Outside!!!

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10 Ways Playing Outside Will Make Your Kid Smarter

Today, the average American child spends as little as 30 minutes outside in unstructured play each day.

When I was a kid, I lived outside. Most warm evenings would have me and most of the neighborhood kids riding bikes, building forts, catching lightning bugs, or just laying in the grass until the streetlights blinked on or our mothers called us for dinner. I grew up in an age when organized athletics for five year olds were rare, when parents didn’t orchestrate their children’s every waking moment, when mothers and fathers didn’t feel so pressured for their kids to perform and succeed. There was an abundance of free time and my mother didn’t want me in her hair. I am a much better person for it.

Today, the average American child spends as little as 30 minutes outside in unstructured play each day. Let’s be honest, that’s not enough time to organize a game of stickball or terrorize the neighborhood in a bicycle gang or even to get lost in thought lying in the warm spring grass. What are our kids doing with their time? Most of it is spent indoors behind a desk or dazed behind an electronic screen. The average American child spends as much as seven hours using electronics every day.

It’s a sad fact that our kids would generally rather FaceTime with their friends than actually play with them.

But aside from “free time” spent on computers and tablets and cell phones, parents are overly concerned with artificially enriching their children’s lives. Organized sports, and dance classes, and math camps, and scouts are where parents want their kids to spend their “extra” time. By organizing and carefully constructing a childhood, they hope to give their kids a leg up in the human rat race.

It’s a common thought that if a child isn’t spending time in school achieving academic excellence, then they should be studying and completing worksheets, and if there is still time left over, they should be engaged in carefully coordinated activities designed to make them better, smarter, higher-achieving people. All of this is going to have to go down on college applications one day, so we might as well start now and make it look good.

But there is no “extra” time. Kids are like us, they only have time. There’s nothing extra, and too much is sucked up by living a script someone else has created for them. Kids need to write their own scripts, just like adults. They need freedom. And quite often, they need to be outside and engaged in free play to become whole human beings.

Parents, if you’re worried about your kid getting into Harvard (and if so, I argue that you might be worried about the wrong things, but that’s a subject for another blog post), you still might want them to back away from the worksheets and violin practice and just go outside. There are a number of ways that playing outside makes kids smarter.

1. Playing outside improves focus. A 2008 study from the University of Michigan explored the cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. The study found that just walking outside, no matter the weather, and no matter whether the experience was actually enjoyable, helped improve memory and attention by 20 percent. So even when they don’t want to put down the tablet, and they complain about being miserable, just send them outside anyway.

2. Playing outside stimulates creativity. During open-ended play, kids have to make up ways to entertain themselves instead of relying on adults to do it for them. Being outdoors where there are rocks and dirt and sticks presents limitless opportunities for play experiences. No two playtimes will end up looking exactly the same. Being outside presents a plethora of opportunities for imaginative play, creative building, and inventive activities.

3. Playing outside promotes problem solving. During free outdoor play, children make up their own rules. They learn what works and what doesn’t. They learn when to keep trying and when to try something else. If playing with other children, they learn what types of interactions promote cooperation and which cause frustration. By solving their own childhood problems, they’ll be much more independent problem solvers as adults. Practice makes perfect in this area of life. If never given the chance to practice solving their own problems, how can we expect them to magically do it once they turn eighteen?

4. Playing outside develops leadership skills. Playing together outside, children must negotiate rules of games and the roles they play in them. Natural leadership skills will be developed as they play. No special workshops or lessons required.
5. Playing outside improves language skills. Children are so often told that they must be quiet indoors. “Use your quiet, indoor voice,” we often hear teachers tell their young pupils. But outside, children are free to be loud. Instead of others encouraging them to hush, they can experience a freedom to speak that the indoors doesn’t always provide. Many children (especially boys) are able to find their voices outdoors. And cooperative play, gives plenty of opportunities to communicate with one another. Children may issue instructions to each other on the building of a fort or the intricate rules of a spontaneous game.

Being outdoors always creates a lush context for vocabulary development, too. From discovering tiny animals, to expressing changing weather and seasons, to describing the texture rich environment of trees and stones, children are encouraged by the outdoors to try out new words and make them their own.

6. Playing outside is multi-sensory. During outdoor play, a child uses all of his senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell, and even taste (If I had a dollar for every time I told a child, “Don’t put that in your mouth!”). Not all children learn the same way. By opening up experiences to all of a child’s senses, we help each child learn in their own unique way.

7. Playing outside relieves stress. It’s no secret that today’s kids are stressed out. As many as one in eight children and 20 percent of teens suffer from severe anxiety disorders. Modern children face pressure to perform from their parents, their teachers, and their schools. Children and their parents start thinking about colleges as early as kindergarten, and school systems place a huge emphasis on student test scores. It’s no wonder our children feel stressed out. But more than 100 research studies have shown that time spent outdoors reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. The cure for childhood depression and anxiety is literally waiting right outside our door. And a relaxed and unworried person makes a better learner.

8. Playing outside makes children healthier. You might not think that healthier equals smarter, but sick kids miss school and can easily fall behind. Besides, learning is more difficult when you don’t feel well. Spending time outdoors strengthens immune systems, making children healthier and less prone to catching common illnesses, and therefore less likely to miss school.

9. Playing outside encourages physical activity. Outside, children are free to run and jump and climb. There are opportunities to be physically active that just aren’t available in most indoor environments. There is a growing body of research that shows how physical activity positively affects brain health. Here are just a few:

  • A 2007 study from Columbia University discovered that regular exercise increased blood flow by 30 percent to the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
  • Psychologists at the University of of Illinois found that physically fit children scored better in a series of cognitive challenges.
  • A 2007 German study discovered that after exercise, people learned vocabulary words 20 percent faster than before they exercised.
  • A Swedish study showed that cardiovascular fitness is associated with cognition in young adulthood. The researchers hypothesize that aerobic activity produces specific growth factors and proteins that stimulate the brain.

10. Playing outside is fun. Learning is easier and longer lasting when it is fun. Being outdoors riding bikes with friends, organizing neighborhood “army” battles, and rushing to home base in impromptu games of tag are just plain fun. Those are the experiences that will stick with kids long after they’ve grown up and moved on to the “real world”.

So if you want your kid to get into Harvard, you might just want them to step away from the homework and just go outside and play. They’ll be smart for it… and certainly happier, too.

Featured image from: Source

from:    http://themindunleashed.org/2016/04/10-ways-playing-outside-will-make-your-kid-smarter.html

Consciousness Opening

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The 5 Stages of Awakening on the Path of Consciousness

By Nanice Ellis

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

What does it really mean to awaken? It is fair to say that awakening is a journey from limitation to freedom — from unconscious to conscious. Whether you intentionally choose to take this journey or an unexpected experience propels you onto the path, once you start, there is no turning back.

It is true that the journey might be quite arduous at times, but no matter how long or challenging, the extraordinary destination far exceeds any bumps and bruises along the way. The end result of full awakening is freedom from personal suffering, clarity of mind, boundless joy, inner peace and the ability to live an incredibly fulfilling life. The awakened state holds everything we have ever desired, and so much more.

Where Are You and What Comes Next?

There are 5 Stages of Awakening, and when you understand each stage, and where you are on the journey, you can recognize the sign posts along the way, and the possible pitfalls to avoid.

Please use the following guide as a way to navigate the stages of awakening, but keep in mind that everyone’s experience is different. There is no right or wrong way to wake up. Like art, it is all beautiful and perfect.

Stage 1 of Awakening: The Stage of the False-Self

Subtle awareness of “something more” begins to grow.

In Stage 1 of Awakening, we are most asleep, and we do not even know that we are asleep. We are entrenched in mass consciousness and going through the motions of life, generally following the rules of culture and laws of the land.

We don’t usually question reality or seek answers beyond what is necessary for survival and maintenance of a lifestyle.

Our identities define us and we live within the construct of religion, culture and/or society.

We may even play the part of victim or perpetrator.

Unconscious programming runs us, and, as a result, we see the world in black and white – good and bad. We likely process a rigid model of the world according to our specific programming.

Because there is a great desire to fit in and be accepted, in this stage, it is common to sacrifice our needs and compromise our values in order to receive approval and be included in our desired community, be that family, culture, business, religion, etc…

Self-worth is likely conditional and attached to identity or the roles we play, or there may be other means of proving that we are worthy.

Because the ego generally runs the show, we likely believe we are the ego, with little or no awareness that there is a greater part of us.

In stage one, happiness is based on externals, therefore, in order to feel happy, we try to control reality; other people, places and experiences.

Although we attempt to control our lives, for both happiness and security, it is more than likely that our emotions rule, and our actions and reactions are based on our moment to moment feelings.

We make no connection between our thoughts/beliefs and our experiences in reality, and, therefore, we have no direct ability to consciously create our reality.

Despite our unconscious nature, the first signs of awakening happen during this stage; a “flash feeling” that there is something more, or an inkling of doubt that makes us uncertain about life or reality.

Stage 2 of Awakening – The Stage of Questioning

The doubts experienced in stage one begin to turn into meaningful questions. The first signs of movement from unconscious to conscious are experienced.

In Stage 2 of Awakening, we experience a growing discomfort in our lives. There is a feeling that something is wrong or missing. We begin to question mass consciousness and the validity of rules, beliefs and laws. Things that used to bring us comfort like religion or traditions are no longer satisfying and the places that we once found answers no longer provide relief.

We question our identity but we still hold on to it because we must continue to prove our worth, and we don’t yet know ourselves outside of our human identity. As we question the roles we play, we may feel lost, and even betrayed by others or life in general.

We may even blame religion, family, culture, government or the world for our problems, or maybe we blame specific people for our dysfunctions. As we shift responsibility onto others, we feel powerless over our lives; not yet realizing that in order to take back our power, we must take responsibility. In this stage, we might move from victim to survivor, but we are likely still blaming others and feeling powerless.

We begin to ask, “Who am I? Why am I here?”

Although we are searching for answers, we still hold on to certain limiting beliefs that keep us enslaved in the reality we have known. When we attempt to challenge these beliefs, fear brings us back, keeping us asleep a little longer.

In our discomfort with reality, and our search for answers, we may experience a great deal of confusion, overwhelm, anxiety and even depression. We “keep up” with our lives but we are secretly just “going through the motions.”

As we experience a variety of challenges designed to help us wake up, tolerable discomfort turns into pain and suffering. As our disempowering beliefs are demonstrated in real life situations and relationships, we get our first glimpse of the unconscious programs running our lives, but our desire to fit in and be accepted is likely stronger than any desires to free ourselves. Although this is the beginning of our internal programs breaking down, we are still trying to prove our worth by demonstrating our importance and seeking approval for our efforts.

We begin to understand that happiness cannot be found in the outside world, but we are still playing the game – seeking happiness in other people, places and experiences.

In this stage, there can be a great deal of emotional triggers. We may even experience trauma or remember past trauma. Emotions are generally very strong, and we may feel most fragile or vulnerable. What we do not yet realize is that our issues are coming to the surface to be healed and released.

Even though we are beginning to see the world in a whole new light, we may still possess black and white thinking – maybe more than ever. We are not ready to take responsibility for our lives and, therefore, we make little or no connection between our thoughts and our experiences in reality.

As the outside world no longer satisfies our hunger, the journey inward is about to begin.

Stage 3 of Awakening – The Stage of Introspection

Immense personal/spiritual growth and the start of conscious evolution through self-discovery.

In Stage 3 of Awakening, we begin a journey of introspection. In Stage 2, we rebelled against the external world with little or no success in relieving our pain, suffering or discomfort, so now we retreat as we begin to seek answers inside ourselves.

We start to disentangle from mass consciousness, releasing many limiting beliefs that were programmed into us by asleep parents, teachers, culture, society, religion and media. As we release these beliefs, we may experience both grief and relief. If we spent a life time imprisoned in beliefs that caused emotional suffering, physical hardship and lost happiness, we may grieve for the life we never had, and at the same time, we may feel great relief as we break free from limitation.

As we recognize how asleep we have been, we can clearly see that most people we know are still asleep. We try to wake them up, but our attempts are seen as judgmental and, therefore, met with deaf ears.

Not surprisingly, with our eyes wide open, it is common to experience greater judgment of other people (friends and strangers alike), society and the world. Others may feel our judgment and defensively respond with their own judgment of us. We are seen as different, weird and maybe even crazy. Sooner or later, we decide to keep our growing awareness to ourselves; maybe rationalizing that it’s better to be silent than be judged. At this point, we don’t have a lot of hope that others will wake up.

We are still focused on everything that is wrong in our lives, and in the world, but, at the same time, we have resistance to letting go. The process of letting go is often “the work” in this stage, and, as we learn to let go, Stage 3 is where we may leave unsatisfying jobs, intimate relationships, families, friendships, religions, organizations and any disempowering ways of life. We may disentangle from roles we played, reject our past identity, and there may even be a total withdrawal from society.

Our former model of the world is failing and we no longer see the world in black and white or good and bad. There may be a growing sense that we are all connected, but at the same time we may feel completely disconnected from every other human being. In many ways, we are faced with the dichotomy of life and existence.

The most common attribute of stage three is loneliness. In a sea of billions of people, you may feel like you are the only one awake; no one understands you, and there is no one with whom to connect. At this point, you might begin to question “the questioning” – why did you ever begin this journey? What’s the point of waking up, if you must be alone and lonely? After all, you might have been unhappy when you were asleep but at least you had friends, family and people who cared about you. Now, there is no one. You consider “going back.” You wish you could forget about everything you now know just so you can be part of a family or community. You yearn for “normalcy” in order to fit in with others, but you also know that it is too late. You cannot forget what you have remembered, and despite your loneliness and your desire to fit in, you wouldn’t go back or undo your path even if you could.

Issues of worthiness often surface in this stage, because the ways, in which, we once proved worth no longer work or are no longer available because we left the job or situation that once made us feel worthy. We may still try to seek approval, acceptance or appreciation or get other emotional needs met by those still in our lives, but it doesn’t fulfill us, as it once did, and we are left feeling empty – forced to deal with feelings of unworthiness on our own.

Our desire to fit in and be accepted is slowly being drowned out by our desire to be free and awake.

In the quest for answers and relief from emotional pain, we may embark on some sort of spiritual practice such as meditation, yoga or mindfulness. If we are not using the practice to avoid something, its purpose is likely to get us somewhere, accomplish something or wake up.

In stage three, we may experience the first real sense of power, but, if the ego claims this power, we may have challenging and humbling experiences.

By now, we may be able to see the connection between our thoughts/beliefs and the creation of our reality, and, as a result, we try to control our thoughts, but it is a difficult process because old programs are still running.

We no longer look outside ourselves for happiness, but maybe we don’t yet know how to find it within. Peace and freedom may also take precedence over happiness.

Stage three is often the longest stage and almost always the most challenging, but it is also the most important in terms of awakening.

This stage is marked by the swing between resistance and letting go, with moments of clarity and enlightenment, but they don’t last. It is very common to have multiple experiences of awakening in this stage and even to believe that each one is the final awakening; only to find yourself back in “reality”, hours, days or weeks later. With each experience of awakening, the sense of your higher self grows stronger. You are unknowingly making room for this real self to emerge in your consciousness and integrate in your life.

In stage three, it is common to experience a fear of losing oneself, and you may struggle to maintain a sense of self, but ultimately, toward the end of this stage, an ego-death is inevitable. When the ego loses hold, there is often a realization that there is no point or purpose to life. This can be liberating, like a breath of fresh air, or it can be devastating, resulting in hopelessness and despair. Without point or purpose, we no longer know how to live our lives, and nothing is ever the same.

There is a foreboding sense that awakening will cost you everything, yet, at the same time, there is a greater sense that something inside you is waking up.

Stage 4 of Awakening – The Stage of Resolution

Spiritual awakening is effortlessly experienced in everyday life.

Stage 4 of Awakening is the stage of resolution where your true self has finally overshadowed your false self or ego self. The struggle that you experienced in the first three stages is over and you experience a deep peace and knowing of who you really are, and you are no longer seeking answers. This is fondly known as the Eckart Tolle Stage.

All your beliefs have been overhauled in the past two stages, and the beliefs that remain support harmony and balance. You have mastered the art of letting go, and surrendering to a higher power. You also experience and have access to the inner power you possess, without ego control.

Doubt has been replaced with faith and trust. You are able to see and understand your life in such a way that your past and present all makes sense. You have forgiven everyone for everything, including yourself.

Unconscious programming has been replaced with consciousness, and there are no emotional or mental prisons holding you captive.

You take responsibility for your entire life, no longer blaming anyone for anything. As you have freed yourself, you have freed all the people who have ever been effected by your judgment and expectations.

You are no longer trying to prove your worth. You now know and own your intrinsic worth, and, as a result, you experience unconditional self-love.

Although you might still be alone on your journey, you experience a deep and profound connection to all of life and the sense of loneliness has likely faded into all oneness. The need and desire for the old paradigm of relationships has shifted and you no longer yearn to fit in or be “normal.” You allow yourself to be exactly who you are, without needing approval or acceptance from anyone. You no longer have a need to change anyone or help those you love wake up, and you are pleasantly surprised that some people you know are actually awakening. All your relationships improve, and the new people who come into your life are better aligned with who you are.

In this stage, you integrate your insights and develop greater understanding for the journey you have been on. You may teach, mentor or share, but not because you feel you have to, or because you need to, but only because it brings you joy, and you are guided to do so. You may have a compelling desire to support others on their journey or you may have no inclination whatsoever. If you take the role of teacher, mentor, healer or coach, you do not take responsibility for others, but rather you empower them to empower themselves. You don’t take anything personally, and another’s behavior has little, or no, effect on you.

During stage four, it is common to have some sort of spiritual practice, such as meditation, yoga or mindfulness, but not because you are trying to get somewhere or accomplish something (as in the previous stage), but rather because it feels good to you, and it is a natural expression of your life.

You may also experience increased intuition and the ability to access infinite intelligence, as if, you have a direct line to unlimited information.

This stage is marked by living in the moment.

You have made peace with the realization that there is no purpose or point to life, and, as a result, it is effortless to live in the present moment. Your love for life and all living beings overflows unconditionally with gratitude and appreciation as a common state of being.

The concepts of good and bad have dissolved, and, yet, you have the full knowing that inside everyone and everything is love.

You take stock of yourself, realizing that you are still you. You are free from ego-control, and no “authentic parts” have been lost in the journey to awakening. Your personality may be quite the same, but you are likely more easy-going and light-hearted.

Either you have found a livelihood that is aligned with who you are, or you have made peace with your present day livelihood.

There is really no thought of happiness because you no longer need anything to make you happy. You have realized that the secret to happiness is living in the moment and it is now easy to be present at all times.

You have learned how to master your thoughts and beliefs, but, surprisingly, you may have no desire to change anything in your life.

Although you likely experience a full range of emotions, emotions no longer rule you or control your choices or relationships.

Your higher self has integrated in your body, and you live your life as this real self.

You are finally conscious and awake, and grateful that your past “asleep-self” had the courage and tenacity to make this journey. It was worth it – a million times over.

Stage 5 of Awakening – The Stage of Conscious Creation

The ability to consciously create one’s life from the awake state.

Many people arrive at stage four and mistakenly believe it is the final stage of awakening, but it is actually a bridge to an even greater experience of awakening.

In Stage 5 of awakening, you experience, and deepen, all the attributes of stage four, but you also step into your power as conscious creator.

Although there is no pre-ordained point or purpose to life, you now understand that the point and purpose of life can be anything that you choose, and you integrate this understanding by consciously choosing the purpose of your life, because that is the point. Work and play merge into one, and you experience peace and fulfillment equally in both.

You no longer do anything out of obligation or need, but, instead, you are guided through inspiration and pure desire.

You experience a direct connection to all of life, and you are inspired to create in a whole new manner. Through intuitive connection with Infinite Intelligence, you might develop new paradigms of community building, teaching or leadership.

At this stage, you have the ability to attract relationships and form communities that support the betterment of humanity. Since you have mastered your thoughts and beliefs, you can now consciously create the life you desire; living in the moment, while also creating for the future.

In pure connection with Prime Creator, you are channel of expression in all you do.

Whatever stage you might now be experiencing, you cannot get it wrong and there are no tests to pass. Awakening is simply a natural process, just like the caterpillar that awakens as the butterfly.

A common question is, how long does each stage take? The time we spend in each stage is not predetermined, but we can move through a stage quicker and easier when we utilize a mindfulness practice of letting go. Letting go is truly the secret of awakening.

As more and more people awaken, a threshold of awakening will be experienced, and the masses will awaken in a much a different paradigm than those of us who have already awakened or who are awakening now. The stages of awakening will be less defined and maybe even disappear altogether.

No matter where you are on your journey to awakening, you are exactly where you need to be.

from:    http://www.zengardner.com/5-stages-awakening-path-consciousness/

Belief Systems, Illusion, & Awakening

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Crossroads, Off-Ramps and the Time of Transition

by Zen Gardner
by Zen Gardner

It’s human nature to look for resting places. Naturally there’s a time to rest in many aspects of life, but when it comes to the pursuit of truth and increased awareness and conscious activation there really is no stopping place.

Awakening has its own form of peace and rest by its very nature as we’re tapping into other wondrous realms of empowerment and inspiration. Nevertheless, like swimming, our challenges to learn and grow are ever present and cannot be ignored without serious consequences.

While there’s a mistaken idea that once awakened, always awakened, and everything is clear sailing from then on, the truth is that awakening is a continual process, one which we’re only just embarking upon.

Choosing a relevant path-1

Crossroads and Off Ramps

It’s interesting watching the alternative research community evolve. Many are talking about the increased infighting and the apparent new belief system adherence that’s distracting so many. These things are bound to arise I suppose, especially with those that want to see the community implode, but it’s also endemic to the very nature of truth pursuit.

The closer one gets to the summit of any climb, the more intense the external conditions. Even the air is thinner up high, and the temptation to find an off-ramp to a road side place of comfort is strong.

However not all are simple side tracks. Some are cleverly devised and very appealing distractions. Some appear as very plausible alternatives that we think might be worth exploring, even just out of curiosity, but sometimes become a lifelong diversion. Look at any belief or religion, including materialism and scientism. The soul is aspiring to find answers and solutions and here are ready-made closed systems with seemingly all the answers.

“Ah, peace at last. Now we can lay down and camp out with no more serious worries or climbing to do, especially in that increasingly harsh weather further up the mountain. Besides, here are all these other people who feel the same as I do.

“What a comfort – this must be right. After all, we’re endorsed and accepted by the system. Peace at last.”

To Go On, or Not Go On

Most of life’s serious choices aren’t easy. That’s why so many avoid the conditions that may bring them on. However, life has a habit of getting in the way of our gravitating towards safety and security. Things go “wrong”, or so it seems. Our plans get thwarted for one reason or another, or our stability is rocked by some event or life change.

While we’re programmed to think of these as bad turns of events, they invariably lead to greater opportunities to develop what really matters in life regarding our true purpose here and our soul’s progress. However, most fight these changes or spend countless years in unnecessary anger, denial, remorse and bitterness, never getting the point life was trying to hand them.

It’s not easy in a world engineered to halter human spiritual development. But this too brings out the fighter within us and checks our determination to really progress, not just for ourselves but for the good of those around us.

It’s a sifting process. We can go on and keep learning and growing and letting go of the old, or hang on to what we find comfortable and convenient. This usually takes the form of a nice, easily justified place of compromise, with just enough truth wound in our new found chosen life fabric to keep our conscience at bay.

Or so we think. Again, life has a way of reaching into every corner of existence and testing us regardless.

being-born-a-warrior

Take the Challenge

Wherever we find ourselves, and in this rapidly shifting world that will be a lot of “places” and circumstances, whether brought on by our own actions or resulting from external factors, that will continue to evolve. As I’ve often said, not only is this a continually shifting landscape we’re living in, our very perspective is continually shifting as well.

All of this is ours to interpret and integrate into our lives. If we so choose. We can take the bunker mentality and try to close it all off but in the long run that won’t work, just as the death of our physical bodies is inevitable.

The challenge we’re each presented with is a beautiful one. It’s fear that freezes people into a defensive stance rather than taking life on as the challenge that it is. And as we know, that is why fear is incessantly pumped into the body politic in any and every form possible, to paralyze humanity and keep it from waking up to its true nature.

Follow the Questions

A simple remedy to stagnation is asking questions – continually. Don’t take anything at face value. Why are you feeling the way you are? What caused you to make that last decision or set some goal? Why do you value this over that, or have the attitude you do that makes you take the course of action you’ve chosen in your life, immediately or overall?

Then there’s the external world. Why is all this happening? Who or what is causing it? What information is reliable and how do I find it and discern right from wrong? And most of all, what’s my real place in all of this? Why am I here and who or what am I? What is my true purpose for being here?

It’s in the question – and our determination to pursue meaningful answers.

With courage. Then act on it. Make the sacrifices needed to do the right thing. Screw the consequences to your former paradigm.

As more do so, we’ll continue to see a major shift here and now, not just later. Don’t judge by all the zombies running around – look for the awakening. It’s alive and growing. We may not see the ultimate fulfillment of our heart’s desires for humanity and our planet in this lifetime, but this is all part of the process. Ours is simply to fulfill our rightful role.

Yes, it’s few compared to the many, but how much light does it take to light the darkness? Because the task seems so great at times, is that reason to not keep advancing? To hell with the naysayers and downers who can’t see this. They’re clearly not looking in the right places, never mind being in the right frame of mind.

Light your torch and that of as many others as you can. I’ll be there with you.

Bonfire or bust! Let that be our motto – but it happens one lit candle at a time, starting with ours. The numbers don’t really matter. It’s the intention and commitment – all else follows.

from:    http://www.zengardner.com/crossroads-off-ramps-transition/